Are We Ready for We3?

We do our best to keep you updated about comics-to-film adaptations here at the Screengrab, but it's rare that we get to bring you news of a good comic being adapted for motion pictures.  (And when we do, we're usually pretty nervous about it; see the last half-million posts we've made about Watchmen.)  We were a bit surprised when it was announced recently that Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's critically acclaimed DC/Vertigo miniseries We3 was set for a big-screen pickup -- but not as suprised as we were when further details started coming in.

We3 is a strange property from the start. On the surface, it's a funny-animal tale, but it very quickly takes exceedingly dark turns that belie its Incredible Journey trappings.  It's a brilliant, highly moving story, and its ethical stance is one of unabashed animal rights advocacy.  And it's a visually dynamic book, with remarkably intricate art from Scottish artist Quitely that complements and enhances the writing by Morrison, probably the most highly praised author in comics since Alan Moore.  Its visual style -- described by its creators as "Western manga" -- would seem to make it a perfect fit for animation, so it was shocking when Warner Brothers announced it would be a live-action production.  To add bafflement to perplexity, the website Mania is now reporting, based on an interview with producer Don Murphy, that it will be directed by John Stevenson, best known for Kung Fu Panda. 

There's a lot to make fans nervous about a big-screen version of We3; will gunshy producers dilute the animal rights message?  Will the money-hungry studio dumb it down to appeal to family-film audiences?  Will the story's violence get toned down?  But with this latest announcement, subtle questions like that get swept away in the speculation that Murphy and Warner don't even understand the basic format:  why make a live-action movie of a story so perfectly suited to animation -- and, if you're determined to make a live-action film, why hire a director best known for his work in animation?  We'll keep you posted.

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